Hi i have a interesting question about a love rock lp ,there is a Ls60 on ebay Australia,that looks to be from the pics a genuine mij guitar .but has no serial number stamped on the back of the headstock .does this happen ever at Tokai or is this a forgery? any info on this anyone thanks .ps its advertised as a 2001 model.

Well that's strange, never seen one without a serial number from Japan but that one looks to have MIJ Tokai routes and all the hallmarks of a MIJ Tokai. Perhaps a refinish ?? There is some knots ?? on the top where your arm hangs over. I'd let others chime in as there are more knowledgeable people on here than I. Is that price not a little high though for a LS60 ?? I'm not from OZ, i know things are priced higher there but i didn't realize by that much.

Thanks for the reply....
This 1 is a real puzzle. I thought the routing looked Tokai Japan
and the trc also checks out.
I wondering what makes him describe it as a 2001 model without serial no. to verify
Do the pickups look slightly odd to you?
As for the price it is a bit high should really be able to pick one up for around $800 Australian.

It's identified as Japanese by the routing in the pickup cavities having square holes for the pickup legs. This is a feature of Japanese Tokai only.

Also all hardware electronics are Japanese. The Pickups have the metal braided wire which Korean ones don't.

This is definitely Japanese Tokai.

As for the Serial Number, I can't explain why there isn't one .. just isn't. Sometimes the way.
Dated from the Truss Rod Cover which came in just a little while before 2001. The LS-60 & lower models stopped being made in Japan after 2001. This one could be a little earlier, but not much

I can assure you LS60 models were made in 2005, I had one.
Regarding an inked serial on a Tokai (2000s) I would be very cautious and I would not buy it. Now, the most important is do you like it? If so, good buy.

I have a 1996 with no serial but with a card and I have traced it and contacted the guy envolving on this particular building (hand made , a prototype). I have put that guitar nearly perfect to whatI think a very good Les Paul should be (Rolph pickups helps to it too)....

So I bought this exact guitar today and here's what I know and then I'd love anyone's input. I found this post cos I searched "Japanese Tokai no serial number"

I actually went to the guy's house as he lives around the corner from me so I got to try it whick is always a plus..

I actually went there to try a few Greco's he had listed on a Facebook group and saw this Tokai on eBay the day before, saw the suburb and put 2+2 together.

About the seller... No ^&*( he has at least 40 different Japanese guitars in his guitar room (all the known Jap lawsuit brands) and I was blown away by his knowledge of not only the guitars but the factories and basically just everything Japanese guitars (he doesn't have ESP or Ibanez, really more of a Gibson/fender clone collector).

Anyway I played the Greco's and then the Tokai and I personally immediately fell in love with it... So much so that I didn't really think about the serial number. In the flesh it's clearly a Japanese model (if it's fake or made somewhere else it's a damn good copy of a copy).

He told me he didn't know Why it didn't have one and honestly I think I believe him. We spent 3 hours playing different guitars and just going over what to look for in certain models/auctions.

Now that I own it I would say at worst he might know why (could of been listed in the auction he got it from) and it's something he thought might of stalled the sale??? There no marks on the neck that would indicate a repair or replace paint and one of the Greco's I was looking at had a neck repair and he very quickly told me about that??

The guitar players like a dream and sounds amazing.. but I'd love any ideas on how I could identify it better.

As for the OP if you haven't got one yet and are still looking he has. 2010 for $1200 that's also amazing._________________My signature is better than yours

Thanks for the reply....
This 1 is a real puzzle. I thought the routing looked Tokai Japan
and the trc also checks out.
I wondering what makes him describe it as a 2001 model without serial no. to verify
Do the pickups look slightly odd to you?
As for the price it is a bit high should really be able to pick one up for around $800 Australian.

Hey what's TRC?? I bought this exact guitar in the eBay post.. I went to his house to try out some other Greco's and tried this one. By that time it was clear the seller knew his stuff and he staight up told me it had no SN. It just seemed the the right one out of the ones I tried and I got it cheaper than what was listed..

As for the pick ups they sound amazing and those are for sure not cheap Epiphone pups but at the same time they can be added later.…. I'm restringing it tomorrow so I'll have a look.

Should I be nervous?_________________My signature is better than yours